Turn, Smile, Shift, Repeat
by anonymous442
Summary: Poor Hermione has a problem. She’s fallen in love. It’s her 7th and final year, what will she do with the rest of her life, and who exactly has she fallen in love with? Read and Review please, it’s my first HP story so cut me some slack.
1. Chapter One

A/N: Hey. This is my first HP story, so excuse all the mistakes please. I'm running a poll on which character Hermione should become … involved with. I'm open to anyone really, except females. I don't do slash, and I don't do smut either, so I'm sorry, but this'll be quite a clean story. Apart from swear words of course.

 Please read this, and review. I love reviews – they make me feel wanted. I hate flames. There's no point in telling me my story is rubbish, when I already know it is. If you really have to say something bad, please give me some advice on how to improve my writing style. 

I usually write for Princess Diaries, so if you're interested in the lives of Princess Mia and Michael Moscovitz, then check out my other 3 stories please. As I said before, I'm not exactly sure who to use as the male in this story, and I'll go with whomever you guys want. I'm not particularly fussy so just leave your choice in a review and I'll get right on it. Enjoy!

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It was a cold windy day on September the 1st, 1997. As a young lady by the name of Hermione Granger trudged into Kings Cross Station, a particularly strong burst of wind blew her hat off. A tall, black haired boy jumped up from where he was lounging on a bench and rushed after the hat, finally catching it near a bin. He made his way back to the young lady who was watching him with an amused smile on her face.

"Thanks Harry. That's my favourite hat you know." She said as soon as the young man had got close enough to hear her.

"No problem 'Mione-- 'Mione?" he asked, stunned.

You see, "Little 'Mione" had grown. She'd grown a lot.

With silky honey coloured curls, big brown eyes and a perfect smile, Hermione Granger was truly a great beauty. She wore little make up and wore form fitting clothes, which heightened her attractiveness, yet kept her dignity. 'No sense in dressing like Pansy' she thought, whenever she saw herself in a mirror.

Not that Hermione had really noticed any of this. To her, she was just plain old Hermione Anne Granger, one third of the Golden Trio, one of the best young witches Hogwarts has ever seen, and one of Harry Potter's best friends. Never anything on her own, she was always 'one' of something, and this disappointed her. Little did she know this would all change in her final year. 

The past 6 years had gone by in one big blur. They had been good, but nothing memorable had stuck out, apart from the defeat of Lord Voldemort last year. Joining the school has a little child with an enormous thirst for knowledge, progressing onto getting her first boyfriend, having her first true kiss, (with Krum in her 4th year in the gardens, but whatever) to the events of last year. Se had stood by Harry's side as he delivered the final killing curse, pouring all his energy and hate into those two little words that would free the wizarding world from destruction and devastation. 

So much had happened, but it still felt like only yesterday se was helping Neville Longbottom find his missing toad on the Hogwarts Express.

So, as she stood there in front of Harry, remembering all these things, with various emotions flashing in her eyes yet still oozing confidence, charisma and a sharp tongue, (all those fights with Malfoy had taught her to be careful with what she said. Nine times out of ten, she won their battles with her quick wit and determination) what could poor Harry say except

"Wow."

She laughed. A rich golden laugh that sent chills up Harry's spine, and tingles through his arms and hands. He grinned at her, a lop-sided grin that made her smile even wider. Oh, how she had missed her best friend.

"Hello to you too Mr Potter!" she playfully smacked him on the arm and continued speaking. "Come on, it's quarter to eleven and we haven't even got through the Barrier yet!!" She dragged her trolley over to the Barrier in Kings Cross Station and pushed him through, following him straight after. 

So they set about finding Ron, which was pretty easy, as no one could miss the little huddle of redheads languishing by the train.

"Hey Ron." Harry greeted his other best friend, while Hermione god dragged off by a giggling Ginny Weasley.

"I'll see you guys later!" she yelled over her shoulder as she was pulled around a corner and right into The Patil Twins.

"Whoa Harry, you've … grown." Ron exclaimed.

It was true. Young Harry Potter _had_ grown. He'd shot up to a staggering 6 foot 2 inches tall, and his jet black hair was as unruly as ever. 6 years of going to Hogwarts had brought a little colour into his skin, yet he was still as skinny as ever. Even though he was not a young man, he still lived at the Dursleys who believed keeping their own son stocked up with greasy foods, and piles of clothes he would only wear maybe once, twice if you were lucky, was way more important then feeding the-boy-who-lived. This resulted in nightly sneaking down to the kitchen, wand in hand, to steal some much needed food.

"Yeah, but I feel little tired. Living with the Dursleys is never a picnic. Mainly because Dudley always eats the food before it's had a chance to rest. Sometimes, he grabs the crisps as Aunt Petunia is coming through the front door. I seriously think he'd eat his own hand if Aunt Petunia didn't keep so many chocolates and lollypops in the house." Ron snorted at this.

He'd met Dudley a few years back, and had thought it was amazing that anyone could fit that many sweets into their mouth.

"Did you see Hermione? Our little girl has grown up!" Ron said, sounding a lot like his mother. To him, Hermione was as lose to him as Ginny was. It was like he had 2 sisters instead of one. "Oh look, there's Lavender, gotta go!" he muttered, giving Harry a slap on the back and rushing off to his girlfriend.

Ron had been dating Lavender Brown, the girl of two colours, since the beginning of 6th year. No longer the tall, gangly awkward boy with the shock of red hair sticking out the top of his head. Ron had matured into a man of skill, determination and natural grace. 11 years of Quiddich practice with Fred and George had paid off, as Mr Ron Weasley was now the Captain and keeper of the Gryffindor Quiddich team – and pretty good at it too. His hair had toned down slightly, but still hurt people's eyes when they looked directly at it, and he was as tall as ever. But 6 weeks of eating moderately and working on his Quiddich skills had given him a more toned look. This all worked together, and made 'ikkle Ronnikins' the perfect guy for many young ladies. Ron picked Lavender though – Actually, Lavender picked Ron, but he never likes to admit that – and they've been happy ever since.

So, Ron rushed off to his girlfriend, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts. _Hermione has grown up._ He thought, sneaking a peak over to where Hermione was gesturing wildly with the Patil Twins and Ginny looking on excitedly. He sighed, and with one smooth move, he loaded his trunk onto the back of the train. Leaving the spot he'd been standing on for the last 5 minutes, he went over to see how Hermione was doing. Before he reached them however, he saw the familiar platinum blonde hair making it's way over to the group of girls. Rushing over, he heard

"Well, well, well. Little Mudblood's become quite hot. Who would have thought it, eh?" Accompanied with his usual smirk no doubt. 

Hermione's blood boiled at these words. It was bad enough he called her a mudblood, but to check her out then call her Hot! She was not a piece of meat. So Hermione did the only thing she could think of.

She Slapped Draco Malfoy.

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	2. Chapter Two

A/N Thank you to my reviewers. Here's Chapter 2, and remember. Reviews = Faster Updates. Ok, so I finally picked a male character for Hermy to get involved with. See the A/N at the bottom to see how I decided. Read, review and please tell me how I can improve this story, if you think I need to. As for the reviewer who said my writing isn't rubbish (Sorry I can't name who you are but I'm not connected to the internet right now so I have no way of checking, but thanks for your review) thank you for saying so. I'm not all too happy with this chapter. To be honest, I think it's a load of crap, but there you go. :-) Enjoy!

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Draco was in shock. How dare a filthy little mudblood touch his skin?! That time in his third year was enough to show him that Hermione wasn't a force to be reckoned with. The slap back then was nothing compared to this one though. The recent attack had seemed like she'd put all of her strength and hatred into it, which resulted in a pretty painful cheek. Although, he had to admit it, he didn't actually _mind_ being touched by her. He just put all this down to how she looked now though. Because he had to admit it; she was hot. Surprisingly hot actually, considering what her hair and teeth had looked like back in their first year.

Really, Granger should be thanking him! 

Without his little hex on her teeth, she never would have gone and got them magically altered by Madam Pomphrey and she wouldn't have that perfect, brilliantly white smile. She owed him.

He'd made his mind up.

He needed to have a little chat with his godfather …

Meanwhile, Harry, Ron and Hermione had managed to snag a compartment. As they settled down for the long train journey up to Hogwarts, Who should walk in but McGonagall.

"Hello you three. Miss Granger, I need to speak with you about a certain something …"

"Ohh. Yes of course. I'll catch you two boys later, All right?" She said as she stood up to leave.

"Yes 'Mione." They chorused as Hermione left the compartment with Professor McGonagall, practically skipping with happiness.

"You reckon she's Head Girl?" Ron asked Harry, trying to catch the chocolate frog that had just launched itself out of the small box.

"Most Probably. Hey, gimme one of those" Harry replied, reaching over and trying to grab one of the many boxes of sweets that littered the seat next to Ron. This continued for a while, until Hermione came back, glowing with pride and clutching something small in the palm of her right hand.

"I'm baa-aak" she sang, plopping herself down into the seat next to Harrys.

"'Ey 'Mione. L's e muh baagbn 'en." Ron asked, his words muffled due to the large amount of Bertie Bott's every flavour beans that were currently crammed into his mouth.

"I think what out dear friend Ron here, is trying to say, is let's see the badge then!" Harry supplied, after seeing Hermione's disgusted face riddled in confusion.

"Ahh." She simply said, producing a shiny red and gold badge from her pocket, where she'd stowed it away when Ron had started spitting out bits of bogey flavoured bean.

"Nice!" Harry said, leaning in for a closer look.

"Mfshhhe" Ron spluttered, trying not to choke on the pepper flavoured bean he'd just popped into his mouth.

"Thanks you guys! I can't believe I actually got the Head girl position! I wonder who the Head Boy is though." She smiled at the two guys, shooting Ron a disgusted look at the same time. Harry saw this and burst out laughing.

"Ohh … your face, Herms … Ron!" he managed to choke out before collapsing in a huge fit of laughter with Hermione and Ron looking on confused.

"What's up with ...?" Ron asked Hermione, jabbing a thumb in Harrys direction.

"Don't ask me." Hermione stated primly, polishing her new badge with extra vigour.

"You know, if you keep rubbing at it like that, you'll take off all the red on it!" He warned, before grabbing another chocolate frog out of the packaging and stuffing it into his mouth.

Taking no notice of this, she continued polishing until it was time to leave. Seventh years didn't have to wear school uniform, as long as the actual clothes they chose to wear were appropriate. 'That rules out most of Pansy Parkinson's wardrobe' Hermione thought, slipping on her school robes over the top of her outfit, which consisted of a pair of worn jeans and a hot pink tank top.

Al too soon the train was arriving, and a Professor Severus Snape was leaning up against a wall in Hogsmeade. 'Damn Albus. _No other staff available _my eye. Oh I'll get him back for this, the daft bastard.' He thought, snarling under his breath. Albus Dumbledore had practically forced him into chaperoning the students arriving. As far as he was concerned, they could all hang. What was the point in watching a load of hormone induced teenagers chatter endlessly about their holidays and who they had their eye on if he wasn't going to get anything in return?

All he wanted to do was sit down in his private rooms and drink himself happy.  Merlin knows it would be the only time he would be able to do so freely, without Albus or Minerva breathing down his back and wasting valuable drinking time.

They were all just a ball of quivering hormonal children as far as he was concerned. None of them with any sense or intelligence.

All apart from one.

Ever since she had come to the school, Severus had always had a grudging sense of pride for her. A girl who had her priorities right. 'You only had one shot at a good education, so why waste it?' Was his motto when he was at school, and it appeared to be hers now. With top marks in all her subjects and songs of praise coming from the other staff members, how could he not spot the shining intelligent girl that was Hermione Granger?

The simple fact of the matter was, he had spotted it. He'd seen it from the moment she'd stepped foot in his class 7 years ago, and hadn't stopped seeing it ever since that day. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it, she had never noticed the eyes on her, or the hidden meanings behind his words. Yes, the Potions Master had a crush on one of his students. A very _small_ crush, but a crush nonetheless. How could he not like her? She was practically a female version of him in his school days!

And now the insufferable – but brilliant – child was Head Girl.

Great.

With Draco being Head Boy, and him being his head of house, he would have to see her almost everyday.

Just Great.

The sad part of this whole thing was, he wasn't sure whether he was disappointed, or happy.

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Yeah so no one told me who I should use as the man in this, (Well, as I'm typing this, no one's told me so …) so I asked my mum to name a male HP character at random, and she picked Snapey. I hope you like it, and please review. If you don't approve of this pairing … get over it, it's happening.


	3. Chapter Three

A/N: Here you go, Chapter Three. From the way this is going, I'm guessing it'll be pretty long. If you were looking for a short little story, I'm sorry but I don't think you'll find it here. Anyway, Read, Review and I'll update faster! Got it? Ok, Enjoy!

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So the train pulled up to the platform, and Severus slipped further into the shadows, not wanting to be seen. Off came the squabbling teenagers who could only think of their personal lives, instead of the real reason they were going to Hogwarts. 'Stupid bunch of nitwits' Severus thought gravely. 

Off they came in hundreds, from the nervous first years, winding their new robes around their sticky little fingers and biting their lips in anticipation, all the way up to the scantily clad female seventh years and the boys who were hooting in appreciation. Basically a bunch of youths, with no idea their dreaded Potions Master was waiting just a few short steps away, in the shadows. Waiting.

Finally, as the last few people ambled off the train with no major incident occurring, he saw her. The girl who had unconsciously haunted his dreams, both while he was sleeping, and awake, for the past 6 weeks. Why he had suddenly got this particular girl in his head was no surprise to him. She was so much like him it was scary. But she was a lot prettier than him. Yes, a _lot_ prettier he had to admit. Even more beautiful this year, with the no-school-uniform rule for the seventh years. She was dressed in a simple pair of muggle jeans and a blue top, which was so plain compared to the things some of the other girls were wearing, it made her stand out even more. Flanked with Potter and Weasley on each side, she looked happy and safe. 

Why he cared though, was beyond him. After all, she _was_ only a student. With this last thought in his mind, he stepped out from his hiding spot and began barking out insults and orders left, right and centre.

Harry had seen the potions master long before anyone else. His Quiddich training had taught him to become more aware of his surroundings, and as a result of this, he easily spotted the brooding man leaning up against the platform wall. Funny thing was, he was staring at them. Them being him, Ron and Hermione of course. At first he thought Snape was just glancing over, but later on, it became apparent he was gazing fixedly at their little group. Who he was looking at though, was a mystery. He didn't appear to be disgusted with whatever – or whomever – he was looking at though, which led Harry to believe it couldn't possibly be one of them. Snape hated each and every one of his students … didn't he?

Yes, he did.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the platform, Draco Malfoy was being pawed by a certain Pansy Parkinson - and he didn't like it. Ever since he had spotted Granger on the platform back at Kings Cross, he could only think of how to get her into his bed. As horrible as it was, he was still a teenage boy, and still had hormones to control. Or not control, as the case may be. So far, he had come to the conclusion that she would not come willingly. That was pretty obvious though, so he needed to seek another man's advice. Who else would Draco ask, but his godfather? He knew Severus wouldn't be overly interested in which girl he was paying attention to, but would be concerned in making sure Draco got what he wanted. In this case, he wanted Granger. Oh he knew he was a spoilt little brat, but he liked it that way. 

Getting what you wanted every time never wore thin for him.

The students stood around chatting amicably for a while, until Snape stepped out and started yelling. After that, every single student rushed to the relative places they were supposed to be, and by rushed, I mean sprinted. The first years to the boats with Hagrid jogging along in front, and the other years to the apparently horseless carriages. All except three people. Professor Snape, Hermione Granger, and Draco Malfoy. These three would have to share a carriage, Draco and Hermione being Head Boy and Girl, and Snape being the head of house for Slytherin. Professor McGonagall was somewhat … held up, by a large mess on the train involving several flobberworms and a firecracker, ad therefore could not ride with the others. 

This left Draco with a perfect opportunity to signal with his godfather, that he wanted to speak with him. He raised one of his eyebrows in Snapes direction, and received an eyebrow raise in return, telling him his message as sent and confirmed. Now all he had to do was send some well placed signals to Granger, telling her he was interested.

A little touch of the knee let her know he was interested all right, and with a certain air of disgust, she moved her leg out of reach, and continued staring out of the window. The two students didn't notice the narrowed eyes of the Potions Master, and the curled lip, which usually signalled he was angry about something. In this case, he was angry at his so called Godson. What was he playing at anyway? He had always detested Miss Granger, why all the attention now?

Well, that question was answered with a single look at the girl in question. She was a quite the looker. Pity Draco didn't appreciate her for her wit and intelligence. He was sure all his dear ward cared about, was 'getting some'. Which was truly a shame for dear Malfoy, as he highly doubted Miss Granger would let herself be exploited and dropped like some common piece of trash. No, he was sure she would have some pride. Even if most of the other young ladies in her year didn't.

Yes, this was probably what Draco wanted to speak with him about. 'How to get Miss Granger into his bed' he thought, disgusted. The real truth of the matter was, Draco Malfoy probably had more of a shot with her then he did. This angered him considerably. And Mr Malfoy thinks I'll be able to help, does me … well, we'll just see about that' he thought, and with one last glance in her direction, he settled down into his little corner, and smirked all the way back to the castle.

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Review!


	4. Chapter Four

A/N: Ok thanks to all my reviewers. To everyone that doesn't approve of this pairing, it was simply luck of the draw. I had no idea which character to use, so I asked my mum and she – not knowing what it was for – told me to use Professor Snape. I had sworn to myself that I wouldn't change my mind, and whatever she said, I would stick with. So there you have it. I am currently writing a DM/HG one though, so all you people that reviewed, telling me to write Malfoy in will get their wish. People who _do_ like this pairing, carry on reading please! 

Sphinxey: Yeah it did. I've gone back and fixed that little mistake now, but thanks for pointing it out to me! I'm writing another story for Princess Diaries (Meddling Michael – go and read it!) and in that one, Mia was wearing a blue T-Shirt so I kind of got mixed up about the colours. Thanks again for telling me, you're very perceptive you know.

Here's Chapter Four, so Read, Review and Enjoy!

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When the last carriage arrived at the castle gates, Professor Snape climbed down gracefully and swept up the steps, disappearing behind the door and most likely heading to the dungeons for a glass of Brandy and a headache potion. Hermione watched him go with a sense of disappointment. With him gone, she would be stuck with Malfoy for the rest of the night. And really, Professor Snape really wasn't all that bad. Ok maybe he was a bit mean sometimes, even slightly cruel. And yes he did have terrible mood swings and a very bad tendency to snap at innocent little fist years. But apart from that, he was a decent man.

Well, that's what she thought anyway.

While she was lost in thought, Malfoy thought this would be the perfect opportunity to 'make a move' so to speak, on Hermione. So he put his arm around her waist, and pulled her towards him. 

"Hello Granger." He purred into her ear. She shivered and shoved him off. He stumbled, obviously not expecting the sudden push, and she took this chance to run up to the castle door. With one last look behind her at Draco, who was now leaning up against the carriage and smirking, she pulled open the door and slipped inside, shutting it firmly behind her. His smirk grew bigger as he pushed himself off the carriage and started ambling up towards the very same door the 'little mudblood' had gone through moments earlier. Unlike her, he took his time, and managed to get into the Great Hall just as Dumbledore stood up to begin his usual start of term speech.

"Ahh, and here's one of the Heads now." He said brightly as Draco scowled at the sudden attention he was being given. "Mr Malfoy of Slytherin will be your Head Boy this year, and along with Miss Granger of Gryffindor, who is the Head Girl, they will be organising the Christmas Ball we have coming up. It is a new tradition that we the staff, hope will catch on and everyone attending is expected to wear muggle attire as an example of relations between the wizarding and muggle communities. But enough about that for now. Will the Head Girl and Boy please make their ay to the front here?!" He beamed at this last statement, giving Hermione a large grin as he finished.

They began making their way up to the front, Hermione smiling and waving to various people whom she knew, and Draco shuffling along, making no eye contact whatsoever. Unknown to them and the rest of the people in the room, A Severus Snape was standing in a small chamber just off the Great Hall, listening to all the applause and smirking to himself, all the while thinking about Draco's facial expression through this entire hubbub.

This thought alone amused him immensely and as the clapping and cheering died down, he walked off grinning insanely, the thought of Draco Malfoy getting _good_ attention amusing him more and more each second.

Meanwhile, at the Gryffindor table, Harry was staring at his plate of uneaten food, occasionally moving the mashed potatoes around to make it look like he'd actually attempted to eat something. His quiet stupor was interrupted by Hermione plonking herself down next to him. She attempted starting a conversation with Ron, but he was too busy with his lovely girlfriend, playing a game of 'footsies' under the table, to talk to her. 

So Harry it was. 

She turned to face him, and noticed he hadn't so much as touched his food. In a quiet concerned voice, she asked

"What's up Harry? Is something troubling you?"

Snapping his head up, he blinked a few times and noticed Hermione looking at him with an air of concern and worry about her.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just not all that happy with you having to share a common room with the ferret." He replied, now taking a forkful of roast beef and popping it into his mouth, relishing the taste of good food.

"Ah I'll be ok Harry" she smiled reassuringly, patting him on the arm. "And anyway, it's not as if I'll be sharing a bedroom with him, is it. Now eat. You need your strength for Quiddich Practice." She pulled a face at these last words and Harry laughed, remembering Hermione at their last Quiddich practice before the summer holidays. She had brought out 6 books and a huge pile of notes, which wasn't a good idea as the wind was particularly strong that day. Naturally, all her notes had gone flying and Ron and himself had spent the rest of the practice flying around and grabbing at them. 

She had never quite gotten over that.

So he did as she had instructed, and began wolfing down the meal as if he hadn't eaten in weeks – which he hadn't, but she didn't know that. Turning his thoughts over to a certain Professor, he remembered his unusual behaviour back at the Hogsmeade platform. Just who _had_ he been looking at? He looked over at Hermione again and it clicked inside his head. _Hermione. _He'd been looking at _Hermione. '_But Why?' he thought, missing the obvious.

Another look at her solved that little question. She was a beautiful girl. What guy wouldn't look at her? But that solution brought up another flood of questions. What did he want with Hermione? Being the main one on his mind.


	5. Chapter Five

A/N: Again, thanks to all my reviewers, and please keep reviewing! I haven't really got much to say, other than …. It's My Birthday on the 12th! Yes, I'll be the grand old age of … 14. Woot Woot! Anyway, I'll have a Birthday fic up in the PD section, so if you like The Princess Diaries, or Michael Moscovitz, check it out. Please? Ok, Chapter Five: Reviews = Faster Updates …. Remember that please. I love getting emails. Enjoy!

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After Dumbledore had dismissed the rest of the students back to their houses, Draco and Hermione walked with him up to a portrait of a young couple, sitting on a bench.

"Oh my …." Hermione exclaimed, placing a hand on her chest as Draco eyed her, confused.

"Ahh, you've noticed the resemblance then." Dumbledore smiled at her fondly before uttering the password, (butter bear) pushing the pair in and shutting the portrait. A muffled "goodnight" could be heard as they both stared at the back of the now closed portrait door, baffled by the headmasters' odd behaviour. Getting over that, they both took a long look around what would be their common room for the next year or so.

The walls were painted a deep forest green, with silver frames hanging around several paintings of lions and snakes. 

The furnishings were a blood red, with gold trimming, including a little loveseat in red velvet with the usual gold trimming around the arms. There were cushions thrown around in various spots around the room, a floor to ceiling bookcase which was full of old and new text books, poetry books and several other books that really should have belonged in the restricted section. A soft black carpet covered the floor which looked oh so inviting at that moment, a couple of doors could be seen, either side of the staircase which was located right in front of them - bang in the middle - in the middle and each door had either a Snake, or a Lion stamped on, and finally, a fireplace which covered most of the main wall, and was made of snow white marble – The Snake and Lion present in this too.

 "Appropriate." Draco snorted, glancing at particular painting of a golden lion entwined with a glittering emerald snake.

"So Granger, what's up with the portrait then? Why did you go all misty eyed?" Malfoy asked her, trying his best not to stick an insult on the end of the question. It took a lot of work, but he managed it. Just.

"Well, Malfoy, I'm surprised you didn't notice it sooner." She replied snottily before turning on her heel and stomping up the staircase, all the while muttering about stupid little boys who ask dumb questions.

Raising an eyebrow at the moody young witch, who was now scowling in his direction and looking around the first floor, he turned around and went back out to the front of the portrait, wanting to get another look at the painting. He didn't get it at first, but after some time he noticed …. No, but it couldn't be.

His godfather and the mudblood?

Nah. Although …

It did bear a striking resemblance to the two people. And if anyone should know, it would be him. After all, they were his godfather and his conquest. He shook his head to get the mental picture out of his head, and went back inside; only to see the fair Hermione was no where in sight. Figuring she would be in her room with a large book on her lap, he made his way up to the door which was opposite the one she'd gone through earlier, and entered his room. 

It was a rich royal blue on all but one wall, which was painted a plain cream, and had an oak wooden desk, stained a chocolaty colour, covered in stationary and his unfinished homework. There was also a matching wardrobe in a corner and a huge King Size bed which stood proudly in the centre of the room, covered in pillows and a canopy of the same colour as the walls. The loo was finished off with a cream carpet, and a balcony was visible through French doors, laced in navy blue curtains. 

But Draco didn't think of any of this right now. He just made his way over to the bed, and flopped down. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Hermione, on the other hand, was still wide awake. She was indeed staring at a book, but she wasn't really reading it. What did the portrait really show? Other than her and Snape cuddled up on a chaise langue of course.

 Although, she found the thought of her and Snape didn't really disgust her, as it should have done. She was more …. Intrigued.

Hermione thought about it for a while, but after coming to no feasible conclusion or explanation she decided to leave it for tonight. Thinking about that would only cause problems. So she turned her thoughts to Malfoy – a strange thing. 

She hadn't really had the chance to think about much else, coming straight up after talking to Malfoy and reaching straight for the nearest book, which happened to be Hogwarts: A History – Revised. Why she had gone off at Malfoy, anyway? He hadn't really done anything wrong had he? Well, if he hadn't done something bad or anything involving her by the morning, she'd start getting suspicious. For now however, she would relax and explore her room.

It was painted a rich red colour, and like Malfoy's room, one wall was cream. The carpet was cream also, but the bed was a Queen Size one, and covered in various pink, cream and red pillows, with silk sheets. She had a pine desk that only had her stationary on it, as all her homework had been finished _weeks_ ago. Again, a matching wardrobe sat in one corner, and she had a balcony, like Malfoy, facing out onto the Quiddich Pitch.

It was very girly, but the look suited Hermione so she didn't get her wand out and start throwing spells around at that moment. Maybe when she was bored, she would redecorate, but not now. No, she would get some sleep, ready for the start of lessons tomorrow morning. After all, as Head Girl, she needed to present a respectable image for all the little first years to follow.

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	6. Chapter Six

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I love you guys! Well … love may be a bit extreme, but I really, _really_ like you guys. Ok here's Chapter Six? Yeah, six. Please Read and Review because everyone loves getting e-mails, don't they? My new story "The Dare" will be up in the PD section soon, so look out for that too. Enjoy!

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As they both slept peacefully, a certain Potions Master was drowning his sorrows. Staring at the bottom of his brandy glass, he contemplated the topic that his godson wanted to discuss with him. So far, he hadn't thought of anything even remotely important. Why, the only things Draco ever talked about were Quiddich and Girls.

The Quiddich season hadn't started yet, so it couldn't be that. Therefore, it had to be girls. But Draco never had any problem with the ladies. On the contrary, he was quite the charmer. But obviously there was one young lady he couldn't get. So that left only one question. Which girl was he after? Now this one took some thought. 

It couldn't be anyone from Slytherin, because they all worshiped the ground he walked on, the Ravenclaw students were too fixated on their studies to even consider dating anyone, so it couldn't be them either. The Hufflepuffs were just too stupid to realise that anyone liked them, let alone wanted to date them, so that ruled them out too.

This left the Gryffindors.  But Draco wouldn't go for a Gryffindor … would he? No he wouldn't. Well … Her-Miss Granger did look much better than she did the last time Draco had seen her. Well, it was always a possibility. And it could be a lot worse. If it was Miss Granger, at least Severus could try and put him off somehow. Yes, it'd be a long night of thinking for him, that's for sure.

The next morning, there was a mad dash for the bathroom, resulting in one very unhappy head boy.

"Granger, get your butt out of that bathroom!!!" He yelled through the door, banging his fist on it.

"No!" came the muffled reply, and the sound of running water could now be heard.

"Damn it Granger! You'll be sorry!" He screeched, banging the door harder.

"Whatever!" She shouted back at him, throwing a bottle of shampoo at the door. After another 10 minutes of kicking and banging on the door, he gave up and headed towards the portrait, yelling about girls who take too long in the bathroom and who don't have any respect for pureblooded wizards.

20 minutes after that, Hermione finally emerged from the solitude of the bathroom and made her way back to her bedroom, grabbing her make-up bag on the way out. Reaching her bedroom, she sat down in front of her mirror and began applying the little make-up she wore. Some neutral coloured eye shadow, mascara and pale pink lip gloss did the trick. Looking at the clock, she realised she was late. 

'Probably due to that stupid git banging on the door this morning' she thought viciously, now rushing to her wardrobe and throwing on a pair of low rise jeans, a white spaghetti strap top and a pair of black low rise converse shoes. Straightening her hair with her wand, she put it up into a bun, and after dashing in and out of her bedroom, picking up various books and quills as she went, she was finally ready to go, and made her way out of the portrait hole, slinging her bag onto her shoulder as she went.

She didn't get very far though. As soon as she'd opened the door, she heard a loud "Oof!" coming from the floor. Looking down, she saw a pile of tangled limbs, and an array of books, quills and ink wells scattered everywhere. A shocked Harry Potter was gaping at the picture behind her and a grinning Ron Weasley was looking up at her impishly. Standing up quickly and brushing themselves off, they greeted the girl and made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, Harry still confused about the portrait he had just seen. Taking a seat at the Gryffindor table, he decided to ask his best friend about this.

"Hermione …" He said, picking up his goblet and taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

"Yes Harry?" She sounded pleasant enough.

"You know that portrait …" He said, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. She carried buttering the slice of toast she was holding, then took a deep breath. 

"There are a lot of portraits in this castle. Approximately 739 according to Hogwarts: A History. There are also 627 suits of armour and--" She rambled on, until Harry put a hand on her mouth and said

"I know, 'Mione, I know." Then rolled his eyes.

"Oh. So you've read the book then?" She asked hopefully. 7 odd years of nagging and the boys hadn't even picked it up, let alone opened it.

"Uh … no. But I will do, sometime. Now will you answer the question?" He asked again, avoiding the subject of Hermione's favourite book.

"I'll hold you to that. Now, what question? You got as far as 'You know that portrait …'. Care to elaborate?" She said, shaking her head and making a few strands of hair  fall out of the bun in the process.

"Oh yeah." He grinned sheepishly. "You know that portrait guarding your common room?" He asked her, keeping his eyes fixed on the plate in front of him.

"Yes …" She replied cautiously.

"Well, did you notice that it had an uncanny resemblance to you and …"

"Yes I did. And before you ask, no I don't know why, and yes I will be looking it up." She said quickly and harshly, standing up with the slice of now buttered toast. "Do you want to help?" She asked, her voice growing softer.

"Yeah. We'll meet you in the library, won't we, Ron." It was more of a statement than a question, and Ron's head shot up at the sound of his name.

"Wha …?" He mumbled through the mouthful of bacon and eggs.

"I'll explain later." Harry muttered to him, and waved as Hermione left the table. "Catch you in about 15 minutes!" He yelled over.

None of the trio saw the platinum blonde head stand up and follow the Head Girl out of the Great Hall.


	7. Chapter Seven

A/N: Hey all, I'm back again. Thank you to all my reviewers. You may not realise it, but every time you ask a question, or point out something you like that I didn't necessarily put in on purpose, you give me an idea for this story. 

Like a review I got, about Harry, Draco and Sevi being an obvious love square or something along those lines. This may sound completely unbelievable, but I didn't actually set out to do that. Originally, this was meant to be a soppy thing, with no meaning, but it's kind of grown. Meh.

Did that make any sense at all? I thought not. This is a short chapter, but I didn't know where to cut off, and this made a nice little cliff hanger so … Anyway, Chapter Seven. Please Read and Review, Enjoy!

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Severus Snape was officially worried. Draco hadn't spoken to him or even made any sign that he knew he was alive apart from the unspoken agreement late last night. It puzzled him to say the least. He needn't have worried though, as 5 minutes later, who should walk in but Mr Malfoy himself.

"Ahh Mr Malfoy, how nice to see you." Snape sneered at him from behind his desk.

"Now, now godfather, enough with the formalities." He sneered in reply, and took a seat on his desk rather than he chair available. Merlin that boy took too many liberties. 

"Of course, Draco. Now, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"A girl." Ahh, so he was right. It was a girl that had gotten Mr Malfoy hot under the collar. Now … which one was it?

"Yes, I was aware of that. Several years of talking with you has given me an insight into your mind, boy. _Which_ girl?" He asked.

"I'd rather not reveal that at this moment in time." He avoided the question nicely. Pity he didn't realise that the man he was currently talking to was in fact a fully fledged spy. Stupid boy.

"Miss Granger, I presume."

"Wha--?"

"Yes, I know about that. You, my boy, aren't all that good at … keeping things concealed." Severus cut in, smirking. "I'm right, I take it." It was more a statement then a question.

"Yes. Now, I need your help in covering up something …"

"Like?"

"Well, I need to have a little chat with the Head Girl, and I need to have this chat in a private place. I don't think anyone will let me do this … so I need your help in … covering it up, so to speak."

"Right. You want me to distract the staff so you can kidnap the head girl and do goodness knows what to her."

"In other words, yes. So?"

"Ok, but only because you're my godson. And don't think of this is a regular favour. If I ever find out you've done anything to harm Miss Granger, you will put your house into the negatives for years after you've graduated, and you will be permanently be suspended from the Quiddich Team. Do I make myself quite clear, Mr Malfoy?"

"Crystal."

"Good. Now get out of my sight." He growled at the now smirking boy in front of him, and watching him strut out of the dungeons. Shit, why did he say that? Did he have some sort of mental problem. Judging from the way that conversation had gone, he guessed that last part was true. He would have to think of a plan to keep Miss Granger away from the sex crazed teenage boy … and fast.

As Hermione walked through the corridor, she was aware of someone following her. Every time she turned around, however, the corridor was deserted. This puzzled her, but she carried on treading the familiar route to the library. 

Five minutes later, she could see the library door at the other end of the corridor she was currently standing in, and started to make her way there. Suddenly, there was a loud crash from behind her and as she spun around she was greeted by the sight of … nothing. 

Shaking her head and laughing quietly at how paranoid she was, she turned back 'round and started walking to the library once more. She never made it though, as someone who was hiding behind a statue of Melvin the Marvellous, reached out and pulled her out of sight. Muffling her scream with a silencing charm, Hermione was helpless for the first time in her life.

Back in the Great Hall, the boys noticed the coincidental absence of the Head Boy and Girl.

"Hey, Ron? Where do you think Malfoy is?" Harry asked, placing his goblet down on the table and turning towards the boy next to him.

"Mmflusph pghufch ewwchu." He mumbled and spluttered. He'd look like a hamster if he stuffed any more food into his mouth.

"In English?" Harry questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Ron swallowed the food and repeated what he'd said. "I said Malfoy's probably in his room. That or terrorising a girl or something." He said offhandedly, not seeing Harry's face change from a relatively healthy colour, to a deathly pale shade which could rival Nearly Headless Nicks'.

"That's what I was afraid of." Harry muttered, looking around once more before getting up and saying "C'mon Ron."

"Hey, that rhymed!" Ron laughed, unaware of the horrible feeling that was now settling in Harry's stomach.

"Yeah, just come on." He muttered again, now forcing Ron out of his seat and out of the Great Hall. 

The two boys rushed up to the library, Harry filling Ron in on the way, and finally they arrived panting at the library entrance.  Puffing, Harry asked the librarian currently on duty where the Head Girl was. All he received was a blank look and he gave up on that idea, deciding to look around himself.

Ron went one way, and Harry went the other, but after a thorough search, it was obvious that she was no where to be seen. Rushing out of the library once more, they took off down the opposite end of the corridor Spotting no obvious clues, the turned around and sprinted back up the long passageway and saw something that made their blood run cold.

Hermione's Head Girl badge was lying on the floor.


	8. Chapter Eight

A/N: Hey, I'm back. Thank you for all the reviews, I love that moment when I sign on and my computer goes "You have e-mail". Aww, it's so nice! Anyway, the more you review, the more incentive I have to write, so keep 'em coming please!

For those of you that have never heard of a band called Rooney, I suggest you check them out. I'll be using a few of their songs in this story and it'd be nice if you knew what the tune went like, you know? They really are a kick ass band, and I recently had the luck of going to one of their shows (Technically, it was a Keane show, but Rooney were opening. Check Keane out too!). They were great, and if you want to know more, then just go to livejournal.com and look up 'RooneyRockz'. You can get a full report from there. I also went to a headlining Rooney show and that was just … wow. Beyond words. I uh … I kind of flirted with one of the guys that work for Rooney, too. Ok, 'kind of' may be a slight understatement. I guess you could say I pulled him. Heh, yay! You can ask me about that, if you don't like the story … just as long as you review!

Anyway, I am _so_ sorry for the long absence. If it's any consolation, I haven't updated my PD story in ages either, so you're not the only ones missing out on my fabulous sense of humour and wit. Yeah, that may be pushing it slightly. Here's Chapter Eight, Read and Review Please. Enjoy!

"Is that …" Ron muttered out of the corner of his mouth, staring at the shiny badge lying innocently on the floor.

"'Mione's Head Girl badge." Harry said, sighing and taking a seat on the ground.

"Well what's it doing on the floor? Hey, do you think 'Mione's lost it? Maybe it fell off …" He trailed off as he saw the look of frustration on his best friends' face.

"Ron, don't you get it?" He growled "Hermione isn't in the library, she isn't at breakfast, and she isn't in the common room."

"Well, we haven't checked the common room. She might be there, you know-"

"No! She isn't there! 'Mione would never go anywhere without her Head Girls' badge. She has a kind of attachment to it; you know what she's like. Anything of hers goes missing, and she'll know right from the off. Remember the Ancient Runes Textbook Incident?"

"Ahh yeah, that was great!" Ron laughed at the memory and Harry shot him a look of discontentment.

"That is not the point," He sad slowly, emphasising each word. "The point is that 'Mione told us she was going to the library, but she isn't in there and there's no sign of her! Now we've found her Head Girls badge just lying on the floor. Are you getting it now??" He asked, exasperated.

"Um, yeah, kind of," Ron grinned sheepishly at him. "So what are we going to do?"

"We're going to find her, of course." Harry said, with an obvious 'duh' tone in his voice.

"Ok, that sounds good. One problem though. We don't know where she I, or who's got her!" He hissed in reply, finally getting the situation.

"Oh Ron, my dear friend. Who has been strange this year? Who's being nice to 'Mione, and wasn't before? Who do you think would be the perfect person to do something like this?" He questioned.

A look of recognition shot over the redhead's face, and with a growl, he muttered "Malfoy."

"Bingo."

Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, the Head Boy, Mr Draco Malfoy, was on the lookout for the lovely Head Girl. So far, he hadn't found her. It would be impossible for someone to just disappear into thin air, wouldn't it? Well, in Hogwarts, anything is possible. With another exasperated sigh, he turned around and began trekking up the long corridor and back towards the Great Hall.

Before he could reach the large warm room, however, a pair of hands clasped around his neck and a muttered levitation charm was heard. A shock of red hair and a lightening bolt came into view.

"What have you done with her, ferret?" Harry growled.

"Done with whom?" He sneered in reply, visibly wincing at the memories of that nickname. "And could you release me, Weasel. You may be a pureblood in the eyes of the ministry, but your blood is as dirty as a common mudblood'. Although, Granger is looking particularly tasty … I wouldn't mind her touching me." He finished, smirking in triumph at the facial expressions now shown on the two boys.

"How _dare_ you speak about her like that! 'Mione isn't a piece of meat for you to chew on, she has feelings and she's our best friend, so you can forget about getting your filthy little hands anywhere near her." Harry hissed at him before Ron had the chance to open his mouth. "Now where is she?"

"Who?!" He groaned at the stupidity of most Gryffindors. Honestly, these two should have been put in Hufflepuff. How could he know who they were talking about, if they didn't tell him?!

"Hermione!" Ron yelled at him, finally losing his temper. "Who do you think? What have you done with her you overgrown, smelly stupid little weasel of a boy!"

"Nothing." Malfoy calmly stated, whilst discreetly reacting into his robes to get his wand.

"Nothing?! Wha-" Ron started up again, but got cut off by a hand on his shoulder.

"What do you mean 'nothing'? If you haven't got her, then who has?" Harry pulled Ron backwards, for he was advancing on Draco with a menacing glint in his eye.

As quick as a flash, Draco pulled out his wand, which he had been grasping tightly for the last few minutes. With a cry, he yelled out the first spell that came to his mind. Watching the two boys writhing on the floor, – Harry hit with a jelly legs curse and not able to stand up, and Ron being tickled aimlessly – he laughed a cruel laugh and stepped over them.

"I don't know where Granger is, or who's got her, but you can bet your broom that when I find her, she'll be all mine. Nothing you say or do is going to change that." And with a last kick to Harry's leg, the blonde headed boy made his way to the Great Hall.


	9. Chapter Nine

A/N: Hey all. Sorry for the very long wait, but I have been quite busy, etc, etc. I also have a month long Internet ban starting today, so technically I'm not supposed to be online. But my parents have gone to bed and what they don't know won't hurt them, eh? So I'll have hours to write, with no distractions, so hopefully I'll be able to update at a quicker pace. I guess it all depends on whether I can actually stay awake until after my 'rents have gone to bed. Um, this is just a little chapter about where Hermione disappeared to, and who took her. Most of you guessed who, so well done! I was trying to stick in loads of clues and I wasn't sure I'd done enough, but I have. So yay!

I saw the new HP movie yesterday morning and all I can say about it is … wow. Amazing film. If you haven't seen it yet, I suggest you get your butt down to your local cinema and watch it. Now! Well, not now. After you've reviewed this story … of course.

Read, Review and Enjoy!

When Hermione became aware of her senses, she only saw one thing. An extremely large pickle floating in some sort of weird purple goo. Now, this was pretty strange, she thought, until she looked next to that one and saw what looked like a boiled egg with brown tentacles, floating in a tall, thin jar, again filled with the same purple goo.

Racking her brain, she tried to remember where she had seen these things before, but nothing came to her. But she was certain she had seen them before. Oh it was all very confusing.

Putting that mystifying little thought out of her mind for the time being, she tried to figure out where she was. Sitting up from her slumped over position on a desk, she took a good look around. All she saw was many jars, filled with strange objects and multicoloured goop. 'Who would have a room like this?' she pondered, and carried on inspecting her surroundings. A bookshelf filled with potions books, a desk littered in rolls of parchment and bottles of blood red ink, a silver and green quill … oh it was obvious.

She was sitting in Professor Snape's Office.

Oh shit. What could she have possibly done wrong that would result in her getting sent to Snape's office? Then again … she didn't actually remember doing anything wrong in the first place. Nor the journey down here.

Trying to cast her mind back to what she had been doing before she came down here, she found that all she could remember was walking along the corridor to the library and … then nothing after that. So how did she get down to the dungeons then? Oh it was all very baffling.

Then the person who might have all the answers to her many questions came walking through the door.

"Ahh Miss Granger. Feeling better?" Snape asked, taking a seat opposite her and pulling a scroll towards him.

"Um … yes thank you. Professor Snape?" She questioned, now sitting in her usual straight backed, shoulders thrown back position.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" He replied, coldly, while opening a fresh bottle of scarlet ink.

"Uh, how did I get here? I mean, I don't remember walking anywhere near the dungeons, nor doing anything wrong which would result in my being sent down here." She rushed her words, curiosity taking over.

"You fainted, near the library and I had quite bad timing. I saw you fall to the floor and, as the hospital wing is closed due to Madam Pomphrey's unforeseen illness, I did what came to my mind first. And that was to bring you to my office where I could give you a potion to help you recover." He simply said, not even looking at her once.

"Oh. But … but I don't remember fainting. Or even feeling dizzy." She was confused again. He paused in his writing and finally looked up at her.

"Are you questioning me?" He asked frostily, staring her down.

"Of course not. Don't be so presumptuous. I was merely stating what I remember." She half snapped, half explained.

"Good, because a lady in your position does not have the authority to question what a teacher says." He went back to his marking.

"Excuse me?! A lady in my position? What position would that be then? And I believe I have every right to question what you say. I have the right to find out what happened to me, and as you were the one who brought me down here, you should be the one to answer me!" She hissed angrily, standing up and leaning across the desk so she was face to face with him.

"There are things out there – people put there, that would love nothing more than to get their hands on you. I suggest you be more careful when wondering around the school without a thought to your safety." Was all he said, however.

"Who could possibly want to hurt me? I haven't done anything to anyone! And I wasn't 'wondering around'. I was heading to the library … not that it's any of your business."

"I never said they would want to hurt you. You have become more … captivating, and I am sure you have noticed the drooling male part of this school looking at you. I personally think it's disgusting, but you no doubt love the attention. All women do. It's a flaw of theirs." He said offhandedly, not noticing the fact he had basically just admitted to her that he had noticed the change in her looks and all the boys salivating over her.

"How dare you presume I am like all the other little groupie sluts in this school! You do not know me, or how I am so you have no right to assume those things!" She said hotly, before turning on her heel and storming out of his office, slamming the dungeon door behind her.

Severus couldn't help but marvel at the way she left his room. Now that was an exit. But too late he realised that Draco could still be walking around the school, undetected. Fuck he screwed that one up. So with one last growl, he stood up and quickly followed the fuming girl, out of his office and up to the main part of the school.


	10. Chapter Ten

A/N: Hey, thanks to all my reviewers! To the person who said this chapter seemed more based on the movie: I had just got back from watching the third Harry Potter movie, so my view on things was slightly skewed. I'm gong to re-read the books and get my mind back onto that way of thinking, but for now, you'll have to put up with my movie-based writing. Sorry. Thank you for telling me though. It was much appreciated. Thank you to all my other reviewers, especially Mortal-Elf, who reviews nearly every single thing I write. You rock!

Now, my grounded ban thing doesn't finish for another … 8 days (Well, 8 days from the time that I'm writing this), but I've managed to sneak on and update this thing, and my PD fic, so read and knock yourselves out. I haven't managed to write much, as I'm decorating my bedroom at the moment (China blue and cream, it's all really nice so far) but I'll have time this week so hopefully I'll be able to get a good chunk of this fic written up.

Ok, without further ado, Please Read, Review and Enjoy!

Luckily, Severus was a Professor at the school, and therefore knew his way around better than most. The fact he had wondered the school on one of his many sleepless nights looking for young students out of bed, or Mrs Norris to terrorise, worked well in his favour too. For within five minutes, he had found the enraged girl storming up to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, where he presumed those insolent little twits she called friends, Mr Potter and Mr Weasley, were waiting for her.

He was mistaken though, as when he reached the classroom she had disappeared in to, who should he see, but a certain Mr Draco Malfoy, waiting in the darkness outside the room.

"Good day, Mr Malfoy." He muttered behind the boy, and was pleased to see him jump slightly before regaining his usual icy cool composure.

"Why hello, godfather. How nice to see you." Draco said in reply, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Severus leaned against the wall and folded his arms.

"Do I honestly have to remind you of the small fact that I am now Head Boy, and have a … duty to this school?"

"A duty? And what, pray tell, is this 'duty' you apparently think you have to serve towards this school?"

"Why, the duty of catching students out of bed, which is exactly what I'm doing now." He said with a smirk, whilst turning back towards the open door and slinking further into the shadows.

Scowling, he reached forward and grabbed the insolent young man by the ear and pulled him away from the door, and further down the corridor.

"Listen to me, Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger is not a good target for you to be pursuing. She is more powerful then I think you realise. As you are my … godson," He said this with hidden disgust "I feel I should warn you of this. We do not want you getting … hurt, by a girl do we? What would that do for your uh … reputation?"

"I appreciate your obvious concern, but she is a mudblood, and no way will she be able to beat me in any way, shape or form."

Seething at the insolence portrayed by the younger man, he bit his tongue and counted to ten, before spitting out "Ten points from Slytherin for lack of respect when taking to a member of staff."

Drawing up to his full height, he towered over the blonde boy and shot him a look so filled with menace that any sensible person would have run the other way.  Draco took the hint and turned on his heel, muttering a quick

"Ok, ok, I'm going." Before strolling along the corridor to wait for his prey in the Head Boy and Girls' common room.

Stepping forward, Severus was able to see the flustered Head Girl, pacing up and down the room, only stopping every now and then to look out of the window towards the Quiddich Pitch. He paused for a minute, to wonder at what she was waiting for, before the sound of footsteps was heard. Slinking further into the shadows, Severus Snape watched and waited.

As she looked towards the window for what seemed like the 50th time in ten minutes, she heard faint footsteps coming her way. Spinning around to face the door, she held her ground, not sure if the person was someone she would particularly want to meet at that moment. Peeping out of the room, she failed to see the Potions Master lurking in the shadows. But she did see a certain scruffy haired boy with startling green eyes walking towards her.

"Harry!" She yelled. Severus closed his eyes and breathed deeply – She was so close to him now, waving her arms around and yelling down the corridor. The familiar urge to take off house points came over him, but he bit his tongue.

If she knew he was here, she would most probably hit him. 'It's not like she wouldn't do it' he reminded himself, recalling the blow she delivered to Draco some 4 years previous. He remembered that day quite clearly. Malfoy came rushing down to the dungeons and demanded he brew a potion that would paralyse her from the neck down because she'd marred his perfect face. Oh how things changed. Hormones were dangerous – he should know that.

The boy looked around when he heard the yell and, spotting the girl hopping up and down, broke out into a huge grin.

"Hermione! Where have you been, young lady? We've been worried sick." He launched into a tirade, not realising how much like Aunt Petunia he sounded at that moment.

"Harry. Harry? HARRY! Listen! I'm fine! I just got uh … lost. That is it! I'm here now, aren't I? I'm not hurt? Just gimme a hug." She had to yell over his mothering and fussing. Severus shot daggers at the boy as he enveloped Hermione in a bone crushing hug.

"You got lost? Seven years at this school and you got lost?! Likely story. What happened?" He asked.

Professor Snape held his breath. If she told Potter that she'd been in his office for the past few hours, he would be in huge trouble. Not only with this godson, but with the Headmaster too. Oh god, he was dead.


	11. Chapter Eleven

A/N: Because I'm so darn nice, look what I have. Another update! Yes. It's amazing, is it not? And you didn't have to wait for like, a month before I updated! I'm getting better at this, I must say. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! My bedroom is nearly done. I'm just moving all the furniture around and that is such a pain. Still, I still found time to update, and all is good. Um, I didn't actually plan the ending to this chapter, but it seemed to write itself so, you know. Deal.

Oh! And to the reviewer who asked where the line "Welcome to the exciting world of Chemistry" came from (I don't remember if you reviewed this story, or the other one. Sorry!) The line came from an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Where Will tries to study but he only ever gets as far as reading that line before he's interrupted.

Please Read, Review and Enjoy!

"I … I don't remember. It's weird. One minute I was walking down the corridor and the next minute I was sitting in Professor -" Stopping herself before she finished, she realised that if she told the truth about where she ended up, she would have to answer a hell of a lot of questions about how she got there, and why she even stayed for as long as she did.

The bad thing about that was, she didn't know why she had stayed with him for all that time. It had made a change having an intelligent argument, and she couldn't say she didn't enjoy the mans company … when he wasn't being a complete arse of course, but this was Professor Snape she was talking about! She couldn't possibly like the man in any way, shape or form. Could she?

No. Of course she couldn't. It was unthinkable. Still, he was quite … No! God, what was wrong with her?! This was her professor!

"Hermione?" Harry waved a hand in front of her face and clicked his fingers, "Are you Ok?"

"Hmm? What? Oh. I'm fine. Why?" She blushed and looked down. She had been thinking about the way Professor Snape stirred his potions, which was bad. Very, very bad.

"You went silent and kind of wistful. Is there something going on?" He put a hand on her forehead and started fussing again.

"What? No, of course not, Harry! Honestly, you and your imagination." She babbled on, ignoring the look she got. "What's with the mothering act, anyway? I'm not saying I don't appreciate it, but it is a little weird."

"I was worried about you. We thought you'd gotten yourself kidnapped and we'd have to come along and save you again!" He said with a glint in his eyes. It was a long running joke between the three that Hermione needed saving every other week, even though they all knew she could manage by herself perfectly well.

"Me?! Haha, wow that's rich. You, Mister, need saving far more than I do. Remember when you saw that cockroach on the floor and you …" Their conversation grew quieter until the sound of their voices had altogether vanished. To say Severus was relieved would have been a major understatement. Somehow, he'd managed to avoid Potter finding out that he'd basically kidnapped his best friend. But it was a very close call. A very close one indeed.

"Where the bloody hell have you been, 'Mione?? We've been looking for you everywhere!" Was the greeting Hermione received when she stepped into the common room half an hour later, after a quick visit to the kitchens and a handful of rolls and some butter. The redheaded boy looked like he was trying to decide whether he should yell at her and give her an earful about worrying her friends, or giving her a huge hug and tell her how glad he was that she was safe. In the end, he settled on a mixture of the both.

"Do you know how stupid that was? Are you mad? You say you're going to the library and then you disappear without a trace. You know Malfoy's on the prowl. What is _wrong_ with you?" He muttered into her ear while giving her a big hug. She grinned and said

"Ron. Ron it's ok. I was always in the castle. Why was everyone so worried? I was only gone for a few hours." She asked.

"'Mione, we think Malfoy is up to something. Something involving you, but we don't know what. So can you imagine what we thought when you just disappeared? He left the Great Hall right after you did, and we didn't see either of you at all! Just … don't go off by yourself. At least until we can figure out what he's up to. Promise?" Harry took hold of one of her hands and looked into her eyes.

Hermione had never realised just how mesmerising those green eyes of Harrys were. But now as she looked into them, she found she couldn't tear herself away.

"I … I promise." She managed to get out, before falling silent once more. Ron looked at Harry, then at Hermione and leaned towards Lavender, who was watching this interaction with interest.

"Come on, Lav, let's leave these two alone." He mumbled before taking her hand and giving it a gentle pull.

"But I want to see where it leads!" She moaned while walking with Ron up the staircase and into the boys' dormitory.

"Harry, I …" But she couldn't go on, as he moved closer to her and took her other hand in his. As they stood by the fire, eyes locked, both could only think about one thing. What was happening here?


	12. Chapter Twelve

A/N: Ah, I am getting so much better at this updating thing. Lookie, another update in less than a month. You all should be proud, and congratulate me in a review! Yes you should. Thanks to everyone who reviewed

Neither Hermione nor Harry felt like they could break this bond they had going, so they stayed standing, fixed upon eachother for what felt like hours. Slowly, but surely, Harry started leaning in and Hermione closed her eyes. They were so close …

But just then, who should interrupt, but Professor Snape, who came into the Gryffindor tower, looking for Hermione to pass on a message.

"Miss Ganger, Professor McGonagall is looking for you. She says you are late for your less- Oh! Am I interrupting something?"  Snape smirked and folded his arms, looking at the pair by the fire with an intense gaze. How or why he should have come in at that moment, was beyond Harry, but Hermione just blushed and dithered about.

"Oh, um, Professor Snape! No, no. Not I-interrupting anything a-at all. No." She blushed harder than ever before. Harry just stood, still staring at Hermione with something indescribable, lurking in his eyes.

"It looked remarkably like you were busy, Miss Granger." He said again, taking a step towards them and curling his lip in that infuriating way which seemed to drive Hermione up the wall – though she had no idea why.

"Well I wasn't," She snapped back at him "What did you say about Professor McGonagall?" She said, taking a deep breath and calming herself. It wouldn't do anyone any good to get a week of detention for yelling at a teacher. Especially for yelling at Professor Snape. The man was well known for his temper, and everyone knew you shouldn't get on the wrong side of him. Or any side of him, really.

"You had a lesson scheduled with her for today, at six O'clock sharp. It is now …" He looked up at the clock on the wall of the Gryffindor common room, "A quarter past six. This makes you fifteen minutes late to your lesson." He swirled his cloak around dramatically as he said this.

Hermione tutted and rolled her eyes. He could be such a drama queen sometimes. Not that she'd ever let him know that she thought that. She didn't have a death wish or anything.

"Six O'clock? Ahh, no! I forgot all about it! Oh my god, I've got to get ready!" She shrieked and turned to Harry. "Harry, could I use your bag of floo power to floo to my room? I don't feel safe to walk through the school on my own, you can't come with me as you have that Potions essay and the Transfiguration thing to do and I'm late enough as it is, because-" Once she started, she just couldn't stop. Harry clamped a hand over her mouth and said

"Ok, 'Mione, deeeeep breaths. Yes you can borrow my floo powder. You know where it is, now run. And calm down, you'll give yourself a head injury!"  He said, rubbing her back and doing fake breaths like he saw this character do in a movie called "The Princess Diaries".

Dudley was going through his 'pretty princess' stage when he was seven so there was no getting away from it. But that image had always stayed with him, all the way through his pre-teens and Hogwarts years. Ah Dudley was a weird boy. Come to think of it, that had probably been why he had started hitting him and other kids; He needed to feel masculine.

"Thanks Harry!" She said, before giving him a kiss on the cheek and running up to his dormitory to fetch the floo powder.

"So, Mr Potter. Why are you not off saving the world again? It is what you usually do to feel manly, is it not?" Snape hissed at him. For some reason, he felt jealous at how close Harry had almost got to Miss Granger.

"No. Although I could say the same thing for you, _Professor Snape._" Harry said, smirking at the angry Professor.

"10 points from Gryffindor for being rude to a member of staff." Snape retorted, and the smug look from Harry's face slipped off.

"Ok, I'm off! Wish me luck, Harry. You know how McGonagall is when anyone's late to one of her lessons." Hermione came bounding back down the stairs with a small leather bag clutched in her hand. After giving Harry a quick kiss o the cheek, she walked over to the fireplace.

"The Head Girl's Room." She yelled, after throwing a pinch of green powder into the flames and tossing the pouch to Harry. The next moment, she was gone.

Harry turned around back to where Professor Snape had been standing, only to find that he wasn't there anymore. Confused, he headed over to ther Fat Lady's portrait and opened it carefully. Looking up and down the corridor, he saw no swishing black cloak. _'That man is incredibly good at disappearing quickly'_ Harry thought.

Meanwhile, back at the Head Girl's common room, Malfoy was sitting on a high backed red chair in the corner, facing the portrait hole. It had been nearly an hour, and there was no sign of Granger. Where the bloody hell could she be? There wasn't anything to keep her out wandering the school at six-thirty in the evening. He also knew she had a class with Professor McGonagall at six and that her books were still in her room, so why hadn't she come back to get them yet?

Suddenly, he heard a bang coming from upstairs. _Ahh, so the little witch flooed here. Very clever. _He thought, silently getting up from the chair and making his way to the staircase located in the middle of the room.

Creeping up it quietly and shuffling across the landing, he ended up right outside her door, when who should come rushing out of that very room, but Hermione herself. She ran straight into him, toppling them both right over.

"Well, well, well. Look what I caught." Malfoy smirked and grabbed both of her arms, rolling her over onto her back and pinning her down. "Hello Granger, I've been waiting for you."


	13. Chapter Thirteen

A/N: Chapter Thirteen! Sorry I haven't updated a lot, but I've been sick, and if you couple that with relationship problems and the fact that I've been in a fight with my best friend, then I think you'll see why this thing hasn't exactly been top priority. But I know that's really not a good excuse, so I won't bother going into it. And I've updated now, so all is good, yes? Yes. Anyway, please keep doin' that beautiful thing (Reviewing) and If I get lots and lots, then I'll try my very very best to update this ASAP. Ok? Cool.

Read, Review and Enjoy!

"Malfoy, get off me." Hermione said, calmly. Maybe if she told him once, he'd see the light and get the hell off of her? Yeah, not likely, but it's worth a shot, right?

"What, you think I'll just bow down to you, kiss your feet and hop away? Oh Granger. And I always thought you were smart." Malfoy smirked and grabbed his wand.

"Malfoy, if you don't get off me right now, you'll regret it. I learned a few spells that I've been itching to try out for _days_ now, and if you don't _move_ then you'll be the perfect candidate … I can promise you that." She hissed, starting to wriggle around, trying to get loose.

"Granger, Granger, Granger. What are we going to do with you? Haven't you learned by now that I don't do things without thinking about all the possible ways it could end? No, I don't think you have." He raised his wand and cast a binding spell, which shot rope out of the end of his wand, rooting Hermione to the floor and leaving him free to go and search through her school bag which was lying next to her.

"Get away from that, you ferret! You have no right to go searching through my stuff, you overgrown pompous twit!" She screeched at him, spitting on his polished shoes and squirming even more.

"Now, now, Granger. That's not the way to go when I'm the only one who has control in this situation. Now let us see … Ah! Your wand." He laughed and reached inside her robes, withdrawing her wand and pocketing it quickly. "Now, what were you saying about you practicing spells on me? Hmm?"

"What do you want?" She sighed and said quietly.

"You." He said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

A look of surprise came over her face and she blinked a few times, keeping silent as her brain worked overtime. Malfoy rolled his eyes and dropped her wand onto the floor beside her, not noticing the small shower of sparks that shot out the end of the wand upon impact with the floor, which burned the rope binds to the point where it would be easy enough for Hermione to snap them.

"What? Me? What do you want with me? Oh wait. Harry and Ron told me about this. You're fucking nuts." She finally said, freeing one hand from the binds and inconspicuously reaching for her wand which was lying mere centimetres from her.

"Ooh, Granger swears! I wonder what else she does …" Malfoy winked and raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"Ugh, just back off, Malfoy. Just …" She strained her hand and finally managed to wrap her fingers around the cool slender piece of wood, whipping it off the ground and pointing it at the binds around her legs. Whispering the counter-spell without the prowling boy noticing, she wriggled free and stood up silently, pointing the wand at Malfoy's back.

"O you want me to back off, do you?" He said, not noticing that she had managed to get free. He was far too busy rooting through her bag to find anything valuable, or anything he could use to blackmail her with. "What are you going to do about it then? You have no wand, and you're completely helpless. I doubt this is the time for you to be telling me to do things."

"Oh, no wand, eh? Well what would this be then?" She asked, poking the wand into Malfoy's lower back. He visibly stiffened, and slowly stood up, glancing over his shoulder at the fuming girl behind him. "Not so big now, are you, ferret."

"Oh I see the girl has a wand. Like that could possibly do any– " But he was cut short by a muttered curse from behind them both. Feeling himself floating up and away from the ground, he glanced behind him and saw Hermione in the same position, looking as shocked as he felt. "What the–?" He said, waving his arms around in a vain attempt at getting down.

"What is the meaning of this?" They both heard a stern female voice radiate throughout the common room.

"Professor McGonagall. I was just coming for the lesson, and I am so sorry I'm late. You see, I got … sidetracked earlier, and only remembered when Professor Snape came to the Gryffindor Common Room to ask about my whereabouts. I am truly sorry." Hermione explained to the confused Professor. Her face relaxed a little as she saw that the girl was alright, and setting her back down onto her feet, she said

"Oh that's quite alright, my dear child. I was just checking to see where you were, and passed the Potions Master on the way here. He told me you had flooed to your room so I decided to meet you. Lucky I did." She said the last part whilst looking directly as the squirming boy, dancing in the air.

Seven years at this school and he still behaved like a first year that had been caught stuffing chocolate frogs down his shirt.

"I do believe we shall let your Head of House deal with you, Mr Malfoy." Was all she said, however, as she set him back down onto the ground and summoned Hermione's bag to her open arms. "Come along, Miss Granger."

Hermione turned back to Malfoy, and whispered "If you ever come near me again, I'll make sure you live to regret it, do I make myself clear?" before turning on her heel, marching down the stairs and out of the open portrait hole after her Professor.

"I like a feisty girl!" Malfoy yelled after her, smirking. He casually leaned against the banister which ran along the first floor landing, and thought to himself about his next move. Whatever it would be, it would be successful. He was sure of it.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

(A/N: Ok, hello all of you. Thank you for all the reviews, and please keep reviewing as it's so nice to know that people are actually reading this. You know, because if no one is reading this, then there's no point in my writing it and putting it up. So keep up the good work! Please? And to everyone who's reviewed so far ... I love you all. Seriously, y'all rock, yo'. Ok, enough with the freaky gangsta/texan lingo. It's bad, I know, no need to comment. But if it'll get me a review, then by all means, comment all you like!

Anyway, please Read, Review and Enjoy!

)

Hermione was at her lesson with Professor McGonagall, Harry and Ron were playing exploding snap in the Gryffindor Common room, and all seemed well with the world – for once. Except for the fuming Slytherin seventh year, pacing around his room.

Why had he been so stupid as to do that in an open space? What had he been thinking? Had his brain taken temporary leave of his senses? Stupid, stupid move. Now he'd never get anything out of her. She would tell the pair of walking idiots, and they wouldn't leave her side for more than a minute now. Ohh, stupid.

Why the hell hadn't he just stunned her, picked her up, carried her to his room and done whatever he felt like then?! No one would have caught him and he'd be a lot happier right now. Seriously, he has been kicking himself for the last half an hour. And it hurt.

At least he'd be punished by his godfather. I mean, it could be a lot worse. He could have been sent to Dumbledore. And everyone knew that the old coot didn't take lightly to any molesting of any sort. He didn't even like the prefects messing around during a game of Truth or Dare. Only, of course, when the dare was anything less than innocent.

How he knew when this happened, he'd never know. But everyone knew that they shouldn't give any … rude dares to anyone under the age of sixteen, or they'd be facing a long talk to Professor McGonagall about 'The Birds and the Bees'.

Anyway, he probably would have given him a months worth of detention and told him to stay away from Granger. And he could never let that happen, could he. But with Severus dealing out the punishment, he couldn't go wrong. Like his own godfather would do anything majorly bad to him. As if!

Well, he'd find out at the meeting in half an hour. Until then, he had a lot more pacing and self-cursing to do. How could he be so thick? Jeez.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were indeed playing exploding snap in the common room. In fact, they'd gathered quite a crowd as the pile got thicker and thicker. Yet it still hadn't exploded. Now this wasn't usually a strange thing, but as Ron placed the last card in his hand on the pile, he raised an eyebrow and looked up at Harry.

"Harry, please tell me this isn't an ordinary pack?" He said, nervously eyeing the pile of cards.

"I don't know. It's just a pack of cards that Fred and George gave me when I asked them for one." He replied, shrugging his shoulders and getting up for a closer look at the cards.

"FRED!" Ron shouted over the chattering crowd around them, "What pack of cards did you give to Harry?"

"Exploding! Duuh." Was the yelled reply he got back from his older brother, who was over by the dormitory entrance, handing out free samples of the new 'Bedtime Beauty' range for girls they had started stocking in their joke shop.

Problem with that was that no one actually knew what they did yet, and none of the seventh year girls were willing to try it out, on account of what happened the last time they agreed to test out anything that Fred and/or George gave them.

All the girls had been left with beards, after trying out some of the moisturising cream that was '5 sickles, but for you lovely ladies, it's free!'. Not exactly the nicest thing in the world. They all had to resort to sneaking out of their rooms and down to the boys' bathroom, to borrow their razors and shave off the long beards in the dead of night.

So you can pretty much guess why none of the older girls would go anywhere near then when they were promoting. No matter how good whatever they were holding looked. The second and first years however … well, they were a completely different story. Of course they'd jump at the chance of free beauty supplies.

Harry now looked warily at the pile of cards sitting messily on the table, and then stood up. "You know what, Ron? I think I'm gonna go and see how Hermione's doing."

"'Mione's in her lesson, doofus." Ron said off-handedly, leaning in for a closer look at the wavering pile on the table. Tilting his head, he drew back and stretched out a long finger.

"Oh yeah. Well, – wait, Ron. What are you doing, you idiot. Don't touch i–!" He screeched over the loud collective gasp the audience made as Ron's finger came into contact with the now wobbling mess on the table.

All of a sudden, the crowd ducked and screamed, as the whole thing blew up in Ron's face. Yelling, Harry pushed his way back through the people running around like headless chickens, and back to where Ron was now cowering under the table.

"Ron! Ron, are you Ok?" He asked, bending down and grabbing his best friend's shoulder, "Come on, Ron, look at me. I'm sure it can't be that bad."

"Go away." Came the muffled reply from the jumble of red hair and blankets.

"Ron, show me, or I'll go get Dumbledore." Harry threatened, turning and heading slowly to the door to prove he would.

He heard Ron growl, then sigh. "Fine." And he lifted his head up.

Harry tried to stifle the laughter bubbling up at the back of this throat, and simply said "It's not so bad!" This was such a blatant lie. Ron's eyebrows were gone. Again. Talk about Déjà vu. Failing to hold it in anymore, Harry burst out laughing. Ron huffed and stalked out of the common room in a fit of anger at being laughed at.

Storming down a corridor some floors down, however, who should he run into, but Draco Malfoy.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

(A/N: Ok, back again. I am seriously sorry for the two month hiatus, but I went back to school and I'm doing GCSEs, which, if you don't know what those are, are basically the exams that'll affect the rest of my life, what job I'll get, where I'll live etc. So no pressure huh. And we have to do coursework, which means I've been spending the last 2 or so months writing original writing for my English coursework, and trying to learn Italian verbs in the space of ten minutes. Not the easiest thing for me to do seeing as I suck at anything that has to be memorised (For anyone who cares, I got an A for my English and 75 on my Italian test). But I digress. On with the story. And I'll try and get this updated more frequently.

Read, Review and Enjoy.)

"Why hello, weasel." Draco Malfoy drawled, as he spotted the flaming red haired boy barrelling down the corridor with his fists clenched so hard that his knuckles had turned white with the pressure.

"Bog off, Malfoy" He seethed, halting long enough to spit that short sentence out before turning on his heel and retracing his steps back up the long pathway and away from Malfoy once more.

"Why the rush? Ohh wait let me guess. You're off the find the lovely Her-_my_-oh-nee, right? Aw how very touching. It sickens me at times, I can tell you." His tone of voice lowered as he pronounced her name slowly, putting emphasis on the 'my' part of it as he leaned casually against a nearby wall.

"Don't you dare say her name, ferret-boy. You don't deserve to even know of a girl like 'Mione, let alone share a common room with her." He spat out, gnashing his teeth together and clenching his fists harder. If that was even possible.

"Oh Weasley. You really do know nothing, don't you. You see – what was it you called her? Oh yes. '_Mione_ and I had a lovely little … _rendezvous_," He purred the word, enjoying the look on Ron's face and the colour he was slowly turning. "This afternoon. And we both quite enjoyed it, even if I do say so myself. She's a real firecracker, isn't she? Oh wait! But of course. You wouldn't know, would you. She never did let you get anywhere near as close as we both got this afternoon-" But suddenly he was cut off, as Ron lunged at him.

And that was how, five minutes later, Professor Snape found them.

"Mr Weasley! Kindly stop trying to hit Mr Malfoy and Come. Here." He growled, sweeping up to the grappling boys and drawing himself up to full height.

Ron looked up quickly and gulped. Whoops. Scrabbling to his feet, he shuffled around before finally settling his eyes on an invisible spot on the floor.

Malfoy, on the other hand, took his time in standing up, and, while climbing to his feet and brushing himself off, decided to over-play the small cut he'd received above his left eye, marring his perfect looks.

"Thank god you came, Professor. He was about to curse me." Malfoy smirked at Ron, who was opening and closing his mouth and appeared to be doing what seemed to be a stunned fish impression.

"My Weasley. 50 points from Gryffindor for attacking the Head Boy, and fellow student." Snape stated calmly, raising a eyebrow and silently daring Ron to argue. He did.

"But Professor Snape! Malfoy was insulting me and Hermione! And she's the Head Girl so should you take off 50 point from him for insinuating stuff about a colleague, 'cause that's only fair and–" But he stopped talking after he saw the look the Professor was giving him, and hung his head.

"Mr Weasley, go to your common room and stay there before you manage to lose your house all the points you have somehow managed to scrape up so far this year." Hs voice was deathly quiet and Ron took the hint. Turning around and heading back up the corridor, numerous swear words could be heard coming from him.

"Thank you, Severus. I appreciate it." Malfoy quickly eased into the relaxed mode he usually took when talking one-on-one with his Godfather. He obviously hadn't noticed the way the older mans hands had balled up into fists at the mere mention of him badmouthing Miss Granger in any way, shape or form.

If he'd had the common sense to have looked down at his hands now, he would have seen the little half moons in Snape's palms, caused by the unfaltering anger he had felt seconds before. Which may have been a major clue that he shouldn't perhaps deal with the man at that moment as it would obviously not go too well. And that the best option would be to get out of the vicinity as fast as possible before he could do anything.

But alas, he didn't. So the next sentence came as a shock to him.

"Mr Malfoy, 50 points from Slytherin for fighting in the corridor and making unkind remarks about a fellow colleague."

"What?" Malfoy turned to face his Godfather square on. "I think I misheard. You see, I think I just heard you taking points off of Slytherin. " He shook his head and started laughing at this absurd notion.

"No, Mr Malfoy you heard correctly." Snape turned and started walking down the corridor which lead to the dungeons. "We need to have a little chat about your conduct regarding Miss Granger. I happen to have heard some tales from Professor McGonagall and I think we need to assess your behaviour." His long, thick, black as night clock disappeared around the corner and Malfoy heard him his click his fingers.

"Follow me."


	16. Chapter Sixteen

(A/N: Thanks you guys. You're all so very nice to me and I thank you. As a reminder, this story is going to be incredibly long. I don't know exactly how long, but you can bet your bottom dollar that it won't be under 30 chapters. Or thereabouts, anyway. I'm actually writing this as I go along so the length of time between updates all depends on what I have going on that week and how much time I get to myself so I can sit down and write without interruption. This, at the moment, is not a lot, sadly. Oh what I wouldn't give for just two hours to myself. But whatever. Here's chapter 16. And …

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Read, Review and Enjoy.

Draco gulped and looked up ad down the corridor, looking to see if anyone else was hanging around. Seeing no one, he turned on his heel and scuttled along the corridor, following the steps the Professor had taken just a few moments ago.

His own Godfather, who also happened to be head of Slytherin, wouldn't take points off his house for no good reason. And provoking a Gryffindor was not a good reason. Not by any means. So what was going on with him? Draco mulled this all over and over in his head as he walked down to the Potions classroom.

After finally catching up with the maddened professor, he half ran, half strutted along behind him and took a minute outside the office to calm down and set his face into the respectful sneer he wore when speaking to his godfather.

"Sit." The older man said with a tone of formality as he leaned back in his chair and drew out his wand. Draco gulped visibly and sat.

"Now." He paused and reached into a drawer. After searching for a minute, he pulled out a bottle of Ogden's Old Firewisky and a glass. "What happened in the corridor earlier with Mr Weasley and yourself? I want the full story please, boy." He finished and began pouring a generous amount of the warm liquid in the bottle into the glass, where it fizzed slightly. The smell alone was enough to make you dizzy and light-headed.

"Why, whatever are you talking about, Severus." It was more of a statement than a question, and he too leaned back in his chair, imitating the older man unintentionally.

"I'm not blind, Mr Malfoy. It doesn't take a man with a potions master to work out that Mr Weasley was angry because of something you said or did. Loathe as I am to admit it, he is not the sort of boy to spit feathers at the first person he meets. This leads me to the conclusion that you said something to him. And being that he is disgustingly loyal, it was probably about one of his … _friends_."

He paused to gauge Malfoy reaction reaction. Nothing. "You have insulted and attempted hurting Mr Potter on several occasions before, and nothing you did to him managed to get quite the reaction you received from Mr Weasley this time around. And as you are currently sharing quarters with Miss Granger, this leads me to assume it is something to do with her."

He paused again. Not even a flicker of the eye. During this speech, Malfoy sat unperturbed throughout and towards the end, actually started examining his nails.

This angered the older man, but he clenched his fists and took a deep breath It would not do to curse the insolent young boy for his rudeness with faced with authority. Even if that authority happened to be somewhat related to him by title.

After a minute of silently calming himself down by imagining the simmering potion he had been brewing for a fortnight, which would finally be completed that night, he sat upright and rested his elbows on the desk, tenting his fingers in a pose much reflecting that of a character called Mr Burns – from a program he had once seen in the window of a muggle shop, filled with boxes which seemed to contain pictures of some sort – he took a final deep breath and looked away from the portrait of the Slytherin Snake he had been staring at for the last couple of minutes as these thoughts ran through his mind.

"So, Mr Malfoy, tell me. What did you say or do to the Head Girl of this school."

"What do you mean, 'What did I do to her'? If anything, you should be asking what she did to _me_." He answered, his eyes widening in a look of mock innocence and wonder.

"What are you talking about, child?" Snape sneered as he said the last word. Malfoy hated to be called a child, and always had done from the age of eleven. Even though technically, he was still one.

"You see, sir, I didn't do anything to her. She attacked me, and it was completely unprovoked." His eyes grew wider as he lied through his teeth to his godfather.

"Oh really. Well, we shall just have to see about that." And with that, he pulled out a roll of parchment and scribbled a quick note on it. As soon as this was done, he rolled it up and sealed it with a quick tap of his wand, then called a brown owl, which had been sitting on a perch near the door, over and gave him the note.

"Take this to a Miss Hermione Granger."


End file.
